Communities—like the one we have in WordPress—don’t just happen overnight. For them to be successful, they take people to show up, contribute back, grow with it and most importantly to incorporate new people into the fold. It is ongoing, it requires attention and it needs people like you and me to speak up. A small fraction of people carry the weight of helping it thrive, but the great thing is that despite all that, we all benefit from the community no matter who contributes. In this talk I will cover some known, and unknown tips and tools for making the community work for you and your business, and also help to put back more into the community than what you take from it.

1. HOW GIVING BACK TO WORDPRESS
GROWS MY NETWORK
Presented by : Shayda Torabi
WordCamp US 2016
@SHAPTORA

2. YOU HAVE TWO HANDS, ONE TO HELP
YOURSELF AND ONE TO HELP
OTHERS
— AUDREY HEPBURN
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3. WHO IS
SHAYDA TORABI?
- WordPress user for 9 years
- WP Engine employee for 3.5 years
- Attended over 30 WordCamps
- Austin, Texas native and resident
- Product Marketing at WP Engine
- WordPress blogger DineWithShayda.com
- Human Dot Connector
- Social as @shaptora/ @dinewithshayda
@SHAPTORA

4. WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD…
WHAT DID YOU DREAM OF BECOMING?
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5. @SHAPTORA

6. WHAT ARE YOU GREAT AT?
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7. “FACT: 100% of the people at
WordCamp US use WordPress.
-@SHAPTORA
@SHAPTORA

8. “We all use WordPress, but do we all
give back to it?
-@SHAPTORA
@SHAPTORA

9. PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE AND MAKE
WORDPRESS MORE AWESOME
People do business with people they know or have heard of
And You’re going to improve the platform, community and
experience for others
@SHAPTORA

10. @SHAPTORA
Giving back to WordPress is so easy. For me it’s been a
whole sphere of things. Participating at the local
meetup of years. Giving dozens of free workshops in the
Seattle area over the last few years. Speaking at
WordCamps and other conferences. And just reaching
out to people who need a little help. When you go as far
as adding WP at the end of your name, well, it pretty
much sticks :D
The impact has been huge because of all the great people
I have met around the world. So many of those
relationships have grown beyond just being colleagues,
to friendships that amazingly grow stronger, even if
just online. The biggest impact is it gave me the
opportunity to do what I realized I love to do. Teach
and help people.
Bob Dunn
of BobWP
I'm a WordPress Community Team Deputy. This means
that I vet, interview, and advise organizers, and
otherwise provide support for WordCamps around the
world. I also help to bring in and train even more
deputies to help decentralize the power and
responsibility of the WordCamp program. I personally
have gained insight into the challenges that face the
broader WordPress community. It's also helped me
connect on a human level with people from a variety of
cultures around our common love of WordPress.
Brandon Dove
of Pixel Jar Agency
Well I contribute code through plugins, but education is
probably where I contribute most - planning and
speaking at WordCamps, writing tutorials and books,
etc.
It has impacted my life is a huge way. I have my job
today because of WordPress. I’ve been twice published
because of WordPress. I’ve met a lot of amazing people
and have seen so many great cities because of
WordPress.
Joe Casabona
of Crowd Favorite
I love helping small businesses succeed so going to
WordCamps and talking to business owners is my
favorite way to contribute. Since my day job is talking
to WooCommerce customers I can easily write up a talk
summarizing the top 10 pitfalls that store owners face
and how to fix them. It's challenging because ya know
public speaking is terrifying but really rewarding when
I get a tweet or email about how someone took my
advice..
Patrick Rauland
of Woo Themes/Automattic
I've contributed code to core, Organized WC
Minneapolis 2013 and 2014, Spoken at around 20
different camps, I've sponsored WordCamps, Mentored
the organizers for the first WC Calgary in 2014,
Organizer of the WordPress NJ Meetup group, Started
an Advanced Developers Meetup in MN that is still
running and have spoken at countless meetups.
What I've gotten from giving back to WordPress, is
priceless. I've made some of my best friends through my
involvement with WordPress and been able to travel all
over the country sharing the things I've learned and
developed with others. Meeting future employees/
employers takes more than just being present though, it
takes engaging people in conversation and projects.
Sharing what I'm working on and being interested in
what others are working on is how many of my
personal relationships started.
Kiko Doran
of InGroup Consulting
I give back to WP as a lead organizer of WordCamps,
and a continuing ED instructor for WordPress. I try to
answer questions in the forums as much as I can. It has
impacted all of my life as WordPress security is what
pays my bills!
Michele Butcher
of WP Security Lock
STORIES FROM SOME OF MY AWESOME FRIENDS

11. WAYS FOR YOU TO GET INVOLVED NO
MATTER WHAT YOU’RE GREATNESS IS:
➤ CORE
➤ DESIGN
➤ MOBILE
➤ ACCESSIBILITY
➤ POLYGLOTS
➤ SUPPORT
➤ DOCUMENTATION
➤ THEMES
➤ PLUGINS
➤ COMMUNITY
➤ TRAINING
➤ META
➤ FLOW
➤ TV
MAKE.WORDPRESS.ORG
SUCCESS IS FINDING SATISFACTION IN GIVING A
LITTLE MORE THAN YOU TAKE
— CHRISTOPHER REEVE
@SHAPTORA

12. WHAT IF YOU SAID HI TO A STRANGER?
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13. THREE SIMPLE RULES FOR LIFE
1. If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it
2. If you do not ask, the answer will always be no
3. If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place
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14. REAL GENEROSITY TOWARD THE
FUTURE LIES IN GIVING ALL TO THE
PRESENT.
— ALBERT CAMUS
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15. THANK YOU!
Shayda Torabi
Twitter: @shaptora/ @dinewithshayda
www.dinewithshayda.com
@wpengine + we’re hiring
@SHAPTORA